46% of Brazilian treasurers feel less confident about the country's economic prospects for the year to come.

22 NOVEMBER, SÃO PAULO - Nearly half of senior treasury and finance professionals in Brazil (46%) feel less confident about the country's economic prospects when comparing the year ahead with this year.

This was the key finding of the "Treasury Verdict" session taken by a live audience poll of senior treasury and finance professionals at EuroFinance's 7th annual conference on Treasury, Cash and Risk Management in Brazil, held in Sao Paulo.

This lack of confidence in Brazil's economy is also seen when asked about Brazil's currency, the Real. Over half of treasury and finance professionals in Brazil (53%) believe that the Real should be seen as one of the 'fragile five' currencies alongside India, Turkey, Indonesia and South Africa. An identical majority of 53% also believe that the Real will depreciate between 5-15% against the US dollar in the next 12 months.

Katharine Morton, EuroFinance's Managing Editor, says: "Confidence in the Brazilian economy is in short supply among the country's treasurers, and clearly the pessimistic view on the Real is contributing to this. Brazilian treasurers have typically been among the most ebullient globally, both about their company's prospects and the economy's in the past three years of Treasury Verdict. This year's results are a marked dip in confidence."